love the moment

All of the tombstones They were perfectly aligned They were weathered bone-white Like desert bleached bones The grass was perfectly green Evenly mowed It is all a lie For all the men interred there Did not die in perfection All the foolish plans of decorated generals Are uncovered in shameful nakedness In the midst of Bullets and bombs Screams and horror dg Sent from my iPad

Become totally empty Quiet your restlessness mind Only then will you see everything unfold from emptiness See all things flourish and dance in endless variation And once again merge back into perfect emptiness Emerging, flourishing, dissolving back again This is the eternal process of return Excerpt From Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tao-te-ching/id634588916?mt=11 Paraphrase by David Gamble Become totally empty Empty of fear Empty of anger Empty of thoughts about what's next Or even what just happened The past is gone The future yet to come Here, now - is all we have It is all we ever had All else is illusion and foolishness Here, now - is all that matters Or ever will dg 6/19/18 82° Partly Cloudy Knoxville, TN, United States Sent from my iPad

Imagine for a moment a family - maybe your family - with all of your earthly belongings packed into a wagon and headed into the unsettled, American West. You've heard there are dangers - wild animals, unfriendly natives - but you know that for the sake of your family you need a new start. You're willing to take the risk in the hopes of giving your children a better life than you have had. And, also imagine, that first night camping in the woods. You've cleared a place for the wagon by cutting down brush and small trees. And for safety from all that is in those woods - you've built a fire after the sun sets. Imagine the fear you would have - the fear I know I would have - as the father and "designated protector" of wife, kids and livestock. Every sound, every rustle would conjure the image of bears, wolves or hostile natives. Your heart would race. You would break out in a sweat. You would be terrified and on edge from all of the adrenaline coursi...

John Donne's 400 year-old wisdom From Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII. In case you don't know much about John Donne, let's have Wikipedia educate us: John Donne (1572–1631) , English poet and cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poems, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. Another important theme in Donne's poetry is the idea of true religion, something that he spent much time considering and about which he often theorized. He wrote secular poems as well as erotic and love poems. So, I'd like for you to stop a moment, and ask yourself: Can you imagine Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, or any other Television Evangelist writing metaphysical love poems? I didn't think so. I ask this because I'd like to no...

So what happens? What happens if you don't need to assign blame What happens if you aren't afraid that people might see the real you What happens if you fail miserably and nobody cared that much What happens if your stomach no longer clinches when you see that person who hurt you such a long time ago What happens if other peoples approval really doesn't matter any more What happens if you aren't afraid of being alone with your thoughts And what happens when you realize that life will happen Whether you fret and worry - or not What happens Is You are free 85° Cloudy Watts Bar Reservoir, Knoxville, TN, United States Sent from my iPad

In memory of… Sadness is like the first bird's song Just before the dawn It both awakens and softens A reminder of things small and fragile Crying out in the darkness There is hope Even yet Death is unavoidable Integral, even necessary Living Awakened Is always a choice In memory of Anthony Bourdain June 8, 2018 76° Mostly Cloudy 908 Vista Oaks Ln, Knoxville, TN, United States Sent from my iPad

It’s the Human Condition *...the human condition refers to anything unique about being human, no matter the gender, race or religion of the person. Humans, unlike other beings have a sense of curiosity, try to understand the meaning of life, search for acceptance and gratification and understand and accept the inevitability of death. The human condition also refers to the fact that humans, unlike any other known species, are self-aware and reflective of the past.*  https://www.reference.com/world-view/human-condition-458d7afdc8982b9a It surprises me often that we humans are such paradoxes.  On the one hand, we crave authenticity.   We yearn for real heroes and those not conceived by Hollywood.  We seem to cherish our humanity - as long as it is sanitized and vetted by social media. We seem to love it when we see puff piece videos about cats rescued from trees or long lost puppies who find their way home.  Even more, we love redemption stories.  Whene...

The Least of These For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?' Then he will answer them, 'I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.' Gospel of Matthew When I was a boy, growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, it was a different era. Children were seen and not heard. Women definitely were NOT equal. "Black folks" did not live where "white folks" did, and time moved much slower. The world seemed small back then. There were only 4 TV channels to watch on our black and white TV. And programming stopped around midnight when something...